Developing Reflective Practice : A Guide for Beginning Teachers

This student friendly practical guide helps you get to grips with reflective practice in teaching, through bite-sized sections that are informative and quickly digestible. The book clearly explains some of the best-known theories on reflective practice and then shows how reflection on and in practice can have a positive impact on classroom performance. The very real problems faced by beginning teachers are brought to life through the use of rich case studies as well as extracts drawn from the reflective journals of those starting their teaching career. The illustrative case studies consider how reflective practice can inform your teaching practice, including:

• Preparing for teaching
• Fitting into your school
• Designing lessons
• Managing behaviour
• Planning for creativity
• Assessing effectively
• Developing essential teaching techniques
• Working effectively with your mentor
• Extending your professional practice at Master’s level

An additional feature of the book is the inclusion of a number of new suggestions for developing reflective practice based on the authors’ experience of training new teachers and supporting beginning teachers. Through reflective tasks based on the real problems that beginning teachers face you can actively develop your understanding and confidence in this area.

This book is essential reading for trainees and newly qualified teachers as well as those supporting new entrants to the profession.

Contributors: Linda Devlin, Mary Dunne, Vanessa Dye, Mahmoud Emira, Angela Gault, Fay Glendenning, Gerald Griggs, Paul Gurton, Dot Heslop, Lesley Mycroft, Sarah Powell, Lorraine Thomas, Julia Wilde

Deb McGregor is Reader in Developing Pedagogy and Educational Doctorate Award Leader at the University of Wolverhampton, UK.

Lesley Cartwright is an Education Consultant, UK. She was previously principle lecturer at the University of Wolverhampton.